Tennis: Novak Djokovic ends Rafael Nadal's supremacy in Monte Carlo

Tennis: Novak Djokovic ends Rafael Nadal's supremacy in Monte Carlo
World number one Novak Djokovic put an end to Rafael Nadal's eight-year winning run in the Monte Carlo Masters, beating him in straight sets in Sunday's final. The Serbian handed Nadal his first defeat in Monte Carlo in 47 matches and got revenge for last year's final defeat to lift his first Masters title. Djokovic had a tremendous start to the match and won the first set 6-2 in 46 minutes, before taking the second set 7-6 (7-1). "I cannot ask for a better start to my clay season," said Djokovic. The victory has even more glory added to it as Djokovic had struggled with an ankle injury during the early rounds. He recovered well though and managed to dominate the early stages of the final. "I did not know if I was going to be a part of the tournament this year. I made a decision to play and, right now, it's the best decision of my life," he said. In their first meeting since Nadal's French Open final win last June, Djokovic secured the first set after storming into a 5-0 lead, with Nadal looking powerless in front of his opponent's brilliance. The second set was a lot closer, Djokovic recovered from an early break but was broken again by Nadal as the Spaniard moved to within a game of taking the match into a decider. But Djokovic broke right back to force the tie-break, which he took comfortably 7-1. Nadal is still trying to regain his top form after returning from an eight-month spell on the sidelines due to injury and illness in February. "Congratulations Novak, what you're doing is just amazing. Congratulations to you for winning my favourite tournament," Nadal said at the presentation ceremony. Djokovic will take a week off after winning the Monte Carlo Masters while Nadal will continue his preparation for Roland Garros in Spain as he takes part to the clay-court tournament in Barcelona. Despite the defeat in Monte Carlo Nadal is still the favourite for this season's French open, he is 4/5 to win it at SkyBet, with Novak Djokovic priced at 6/4, Andy Murray at 11/1 and Roger Federer at 14/1.
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